During the year-end WTA Championships in October, Sharapova said she had limited time to see much of Istanbul but thanks to Vujacic she was able to take in some of the culture. “As far as the everyday life, I’ve been able to experience it normally in a way, because my fiancé lives here right now,” Sharapova said. “So it’s been nice not to have to be in a hotel-type environment and kind of get to know the local spots and things like that.”

The 28-year-old Vujacic, a former star on the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, currently plays for Anadolu Efes Basketball club in Istanbul. Last summer, just before Vujacic transferred to Istanbul from the New Jersey Nets, Sharapova talked about dating a basketball star.

“It’s a different sport because it’s a team sport,” Sharapova said. “But at the end of the day, you know, we’re still athletes. We still have to put that amount of work in. There is that level of understanding of what it takes. You know, it’s interesting ’cause his games are always in the evenings. Who knows? Like that preparation of having a warmup in the morning, coming back for lunch, then taking a nap, I think anyone else would be, You’re going to take a nap in the afternoon? It’s really nice in the beginning. It’s like, Oh, that’s the way things work. I don’t even need to explain it.”

The 24-year-old Sharapova won her first round match yesterday at the Sony Ericsson Open Miami defeating Shahar Peer 46, 63, 63.